Cong fooling jhuggi dwellers: Vijay Goel
New Delhi, March 1
Led by former BJP union minister Vijay Goel, thousands ofjhuggi dwellers today staged a protest against the government’s alleged attempts to demolish their jhuggis on the pretext of rehabilitating them in the yet-to-be constructed houses.Jhuggi dwellers protest against the government at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday.
Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Youth killed as truck hits his bike
New Delhi, March 1
A 22-year-old man, working in a call
centre, died due to the alleged negligence of police last night after his bike was hit by a truck and the police instead of providing him with medical relief wasted time over deciding jurisdiction of the accident spot.

People demonstrate to promote the idea that both the boys and girls should be medically tested before marriage to check new cases of AIDS, thalassemia, syphilis and hepatitis, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday.
Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Music systems from 40 cars stolen
in a night
New Delhi, March 1
In what apparently looks to be the handiwork of one gang, music systems of around 40 cars were stolen after breaking their windows in an East Delhi colony, the police said on Sunday.

Gang of car thieves held
New Delhi, March 1
The Northwest district police has claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle thieves allegedly involved in several cases of thefts of car, car stereos, CNG kits and other costly items fitted in cars.

When the cat is away... Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Assocham wants cover on open nullahs
New Delhi, March 1
The Delhi committee of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has urged the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to immediately initiate bidding process for coverage, cleanliness and beautification of around 15,000 open nullahs that fall under its jurisdiction.

Noida encounter
Terrorists were Lashkar-e-Taiba men
Noida, March 1
Two terrorists killed in Noida a day before Republic Day 2009 were Lashkar-e-Taiba men, Additional DG of UP police Brij Lal has stated this on the basis of investigations conducted to date.

Girl abducted from outside house
Noida, March 1
The Dadri police station has registered a report about the abduction of a young girl from the Nai Abadi area late on Friday night.

Grooms face the music for dowry
Greater Noida, March 1
Two wedding parties were made captive in Dadri following the last-minute demands for two motorbikes and two gold chains as additional dowry
just when the brides’ dolis were to leave parents’ home.

Urgent steps needed to check
e-waste: Report
New Delhi, March 1
The ever-changing consumption patterns and the recent policies of the Indian government have resulted in an obvious upsurge in the consumption-base in the electronics industry.

‘Paper bags more hazardous’
New Delhi, March 1
Though the government has banned polythene bags in the city, it has not yet come up with a better environment-friendly alternative.

CAIT wants to protect small investors
New Delhi, March 1
Whenever there is a scam in the market, the investors end up bearing tremendous losses, and the small ones are the biggest sufferers, particularly if the foul play involves multiple players in the market.

New Delhi, March 1
There will be no change this year in the question pattern of class-X and class-XII exams of Central Board of Secondary education (CBSE) beginning from March 2.

Over 14.5 lakh students will appear in the exams, an increase of nearly 1.5 lakh from 2008. The CBSE has decided to stick to the same pattern introduced last year in which the focus was more on understanding and analysis rather than memorising ability of the students. The Board has introduced 20 per cent questions on ‘high-order thinking skills’.

“There will be no change in the pattern of questions this year. It will be the same as last year. We have already put out sample papers on the website for referral of students,” the CBSE examination controller M C Sharma told reporters.

However, the answer sheets will be thinner than last year, the examination controller said. “The answer sheets for class-XII will be reduced from 48 to 40 while for class-X, it will be reduced from 40 to 32. The reason is that most of the students are not able to complete the answer sheets. They are leaving blank pages,” he said.

While 6,32,322 students have registered for class-XII, the number of candidates for class-X is 8,23,887, he said.

On the other hand, the CBSE helpline numbers were flooded with phone calls from anxious students and parents, said the officials.

As many as 43 principals, trained counsellors from CBSE-affiliated schools, psychologists and social scientists have been operating the helplines individually since February 1.

“We are getting an overwhelming response from students and their parents. Some of the students are really depressed and anxious about board exams and I talk to them for as long as three to five hours till they are satisfied,” said CBSE counsellor Geetanjali Kumar.

The queries of students vary from using a particular type of pen to time management and from subjective problems to behavioural changes.

“Since the helpline started, my phone has not stopped ringing and with just one day left for the exams, I am answering as many as 100 calls a day. Some of the students are routine callers and they call me daily and discuss their problem,” said Kumar, a professional counsellor with several schools in Delhi.

The CBSE has also downloaded a short film “Smile Through Stress” and a document ‘Smile Your Way Through Exams’ on its website.

“The film and document is prepared under the guidance of psychiatrists, counsellors, teachers and doctors in order to help parents and students overcome anxiety and fear,” said CBSE public relations officer Rama Sharma.

New Delhi, March 1
Led by former BJP union minister Vijay Goel, thousands of jhuggi dwellers today staged a protest against the government’s alleged attempts to demolish their jhuggis on the pretext of rehabilitating them in the yet-to-be constructed houses.

Raising slogans against the government, Jhuggi dwellers began the protest march from Jantar Mantar and proceeded towards the residence of union urban development minister Ajay Maken, but were stopped on the way by the police.

Addressing the jhuggi dwellers, Vijay Goel said that the Congress-led government
at the centre had announced several policies, but none of the policies directly
benefited them.

“The recent announcement by the union urban development minister that jhuggi dwellers would be provided brick houses soon is nothing but a ploy to attract votes before elections. The Congress is trying to fool people by inaugurating new schemes every second day, but actually nothing would come out of them,” warned
Goel.

He revealed that not a single house has been given to any poor in the Capital in
the last five years.

He assured people that if BJP returned to power at the centre, 25 lakh city residents would be provided residence after working out a new scheme for their development. He warned people against voting for the Congress in the forthcoming general elections and urged them to vote for BJP.

New Delhi, March 1
A 22-year-old man, working in a call
centre, died due to the alleged negligence of police last night after his bike was hit by a truck and the police instead of providing him with medical relief wasted time over deciding jurisdiction of the accident spot.

As a result, Vicky succumbed to his injuries leaving behind angry family members and friends. He met with the accident around 10 pm last night while going to office near Satya Park in Patel Nagar area.

Tension prevailed in Pandav Nagar area of Patel Nagar in central Delhi where Vicky resided. His family and locals alleged that negligence by police officials of Patel Nagar and Nariana police stations led to the victim’s death.

A neighbour of the deceased, Manoj said, “Police wasted precious time in taking Vicky to the hospital and the officials of Patel Nagar and Nariana police stations were busy verifying the jurisdiction of the spot. He died in the process.”

Sonu, a friend of Vicky who was the pillion rider and injured in the accident, said that two policemen came to the accident spot and made a PCR call so that they could be taken to hospital.

“When the PCR van reached the spot, policemen refused to take Vicky to the hospital as they said the area was out of their jurisdiction. I requested them to at least take him to the hospital, but they refused,” said
Sonu.

In the meantime, some friends and Vicky’s family were called who rushed them to Jankidas Kapur
Hospital but the hospital did not admit Vicky as it was a police case.

Thereafter he was taken to Kalra Hospital in Patel Nagar where he was declared
brought dead.

However, a senior police officer denied the allegation of negligence and said Patel Nagar police station was handling the case since the moment they got the information. A case has been registered.

New Delhi, March 1
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) today announced to open English medium primary schools in each of its 272 wards.

Subhash Arya, Leader of the House in MCD said that the decision has been taken in view of increasing demand of English-medium schools.

“A number of middle and lower-middle class parents are finding it difficult to send their children in public schools due to their enhanced fees. We would try to provide an alternative system of good education. The MCD will also provide free mid-day meal, uniform and textbooks to the children,” said Arya.

“English medium schools will be opened for people who cannot afford to send their children to public schools. The facilities in these schools will be given at nominal cost,” he said.

He said that the corporation has also made budgetary allocation for providing a fixed deposit of Rs 1,000 to each girl child who passes the 3rd standard.

It will help to keep the girl child in the mainstream of education. This year, 20 new primary schools will be opened, Arya said.

He added that the MCD was distributing 7,000 sewing machines and cycles to the physically handicapped in all its 12 zones.

New Delhi, March 1
In what apparently looks to be the handiwork of one gang, music systems of around 40 cars were stolen after breaking their windows in an East Delhi colony, the police said on Sunday.

The thieves stuck on Saturday night and stole music systems of around 40 cars after breaking window glasspanes in Mayur Vihar’s phase I area, a police officer said.

The incident came to the notice of one of the car owners on Sunday morning and he informed other neighbours about it.

“My driver came at 5:30 am and asked for the key of the car. He immediately came back and informed me that somebody had broken the window glass and stolen the music system,” said Rajesh Kumar.

Kumar then checked other cars parked next to his and found that music system of several other cars were stolen. “I informed my neighbours,” he said.

“I was shocked to see it. Thieves dared to steal so many music systems despite that there is a police station very near the locality,” said another resident.

Police have registered a case and is investigating the matter, the police officer
said.
— IANS

New Delhi, March 1
The Northwest district police has claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle thieves allegedly involved in several cases of thefts of car, car stereos, CNG kits and other costly items fitted in cars.

The police has arrested one Gopi Kumar (20) and a juvenile, who after stealing cars, removed CNG kits, stereos and other expensive fittings from it and thereafter, left the vehicle abandoned in different areas.
However, the buyer of these stolen goods, one Rajesh Kana is still absconding.

According to N.S. Bundela, DCP (Northwest), a team was constituted to arrest the criminals after a spurt in cases of vehicle thefts in the Shalimar Bagh and adjoining areas.
The breakthrough came when the team managed to apprehend a juvenile from Badli
Extension.

New Delhi, March 1
The Delhi committee of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has urged the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to immediately initiate bidding process for coverage, cleanliness and beautification of around 15,000 open nullahs that fall under its jurisdiction.

This
should be done through public-private partnership ahead of the Commonwealth
Games in 2010. There are open nullahs in Delhi are because of the utter neglect by
the authorities concerned.

These would project a very poor picture of the national Capital, especially when a large number of foreign tourists and important dignitaries visit India during the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

Noida, March 1
Two terrorists killed in Noida a day before Republic Day 2009 were Lashkar-e-Taiba men, Additional DG of UP police Brij Lal has stated this on the basis of investigations conducted to date.

Both the terrorists were on their way to Delhi for a terrorist strike on Republic Day. The police has seized some evidence of their links with terror groups, Brij Lal said. The Pakistan government had accordingly been informed of their bodies.

Since no reply was received, the bodies of the terrorists have been retained in deep freeze in Noida.

It may be recalled that an ATS team and cops from Sector-39 Kotwali shot dead two Pakistani terrorists near Sector-97 Noida on the night of January 25 during an encounter. An ATS cop Vinode was also wounded in the shootout.

These terrorists had been identified as Farookh, alias Ali Mohd, a resident of Rahimyar Khan in Pakistan and Abu Ismail of Rawalkot, Pakistan.

Both of them had crossed over to India on a special mission, a month before
the Republic Day.

The investigations so far have shed light on some significant facts, which indicate that the terrorists were part of Lakshar-e-Taiba, ADG Brij Lal said.

Police seized two 47 rifles, five grenades, nine sticks of RDX, 120 bullet rounds and a diary containing phone numbers of some persons in Kashmir, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Besides, a passport with the photo of terrorist Abu Ismail on it, but with name of someone else was also seized.

Noida, March 1
The Dadri police station has registered a report about the abduction of a young girl from the Nai Abadi area late on Friday night.

According to the report, three youths forcibly picked up the girl from near her house. The girl had resisted the kidnappers and had raised
the alarm.

But by the time people could come out of their houses, the youths had sped away in a car after forcing the girl into it.

However, the parents of the girl are angry with the police and allege that the police has registered the case under ordinary sections. They complain that the Dadri police was not helpful.

The parents and relatives of the abducted girl have threatened to lodge a complaint with the SSP and IG of the zone, if the Dadri police did not register the complaint under suitable sections and fails to recover the girl soon.

Greater Noida, March 1
Two wedding parties were made captive in Dadri following the last-minute demands for two motorbikes and two gold chains as additional dowry
just when the brides’ dolis were to leave parents’ home.

Annoyed, the bride side detained everybody for six hours. The police was called, which made the grooms’ father see reason.

The case was finally resolved after the grooms’ father had tendered a written apology to the village
panchayat.

The brides had also declined to go to their in-laws’ house but later agreed after the advice of their parents.

A father of two daughters in Thakuran Mohalla in Dadri had arranged marriage of
his two daughters on Friday. The marriage parties had come from Bhorakalan village
near Ber.

At 4 am the time of departure of barat on Saturday morning, only close relatives
were present.

Father of the grooms suddenly demanded two motorbikes and two gold chains
for his sons.

The bride’s relatives were shocked at this. But the grooms’ father stuck to his guns and said he would not take the brides along till these demands were fulfilled. The girls’ relatives then made the marriage parties captive and called the Dadri police.

The police warned the father that they would register the case under Dowry Act and send the marriage party to jail. This brought the man to his senses.

New Delhi, March 1
“It is unfortunate that gender has become
such a debilitating issue in our culture,”
laments Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer Geeta
Chandran.

To mark International Women’s Day, and in conjunction with the International Women’s Congress convening here early March, Chandran in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural

Relations
(ICCR) will present SIVAM, a creative production that unveils the web
of deceit that has enmeshed women for centuries at the Kamani Auditorium here
on March 1.

Geeta says, “SIVAM is my reaction to the current situation where women are seen as easy victims. Ancient texts from the era of the Rig Veda reject the chasm between male and female. It is this perspective that drenches
SIVAM.”

In her creative presentation, Geeta sees the continuum that negates petty gender differences. In ancient texts Shiva and Parvati are both decorated with the same moon, which Geeta interprets as intelligence.

They are fired by the same luminosity. It is such metaphors and similes that dancer uses to map an emergent reality free of gender-bias and of gender-pettiness.

Through her production, the dancer hopes to erase the connotation of the “other” in the gender dialogue.

In November 2008, Geeta received the Karamveer Puruskaar for being an Artiste for Change. The award recognized her several creative and social initiatives which parallel her work in pristine classical dance.

Underlining her wider societal engagement, Geeta says that “ultimately SIVAM is a critique on contemporary religious leadership in India that has stoked and exploited superficial sentiments to bring women to this sorry state of affairs. Perhaps artists can help correct the
imbalance.”

SIVAM will be presented against installations created by the talented artist Puneet
Kaushik. “Puneet’s energy of new materials, of new connections and connotations, fires the production,” says
Geeta.

Paintings based on everyday experiences

The Pioneer Art Gallery here is presenting an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Manoj Aggarwal entitled “Silent Viewer” at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre here from March 4 to March 6.

The exhibition will then shift to the Gallery Pioneer in Hauz Khas from March 9 to March 22. The paintings and drawings in the exhibition are based on the everyday experiences of an observer in large cities.

‘With &
Without’

Arushi Art is presenting ‘With & Without’, an exhibition of artworks by Saptarshi
Naskar, Sambit Panda and Mousumi Biswas from February 26 to March 20 at Arushi Arts, C-36, Okhla Industrial Area Phase I.

The exhibition will be open for public viewing from 11.30 am to 6.30 pm daily
except on Sundays.

‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’

The Gita Art Gallery here is presenting ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’, an exhibition of works by various artists from February 28 to March 6, at Gita Art Gallery, 39 Sadhna Enclave, Panchsheel Park.

Creations of Apeejay artists on show

The Apeejay Education Society is presenting ‘Apeejay Art Fest 2009’ at its institutions here from March 2 to March 8 where creations of budding Apeejay artists will be displayed.

This is the first time that this festival is being held in the Capital.
The Education Society which runs a number of schools also manages Apeejay College of Fine Arts in
Jalandhar, Punjab and Apeejay Institute of Design in New Delhi.

Osian’s art auction

Art aficionados came together in large numbers in an event organized by Osian’s
Connoisseurs of Art here last week. The Osian’s ‘Indian Modern & Contemporary
Art’ auction was preceded by a talk on ‘The Future Growth of India’s Art & Culture’
by Neville Tuli.

The modern masters of Indian art such as F.N. Souza, K.H. Ara,
Gaitonde, Nikhil Biswas and Bikash Bhattacharjee among others, defied the recession, as their works were bid for and acquired by collectors.

Several high-quality works by leading artists such as Atul
Dodiya, Chittaprosad, Manu Parekh, Sajal Roy, Amalnath Chakladar were also sold.

Sculptures also drew interest and
Meera Mukherjee’s ‘Figure’ and Himmat Shah’s “Untitled’ works were auctioned at prices above the lower estimates.

Show of contemporary art

The Rimari Art Gallery here is holding a show of contemporary Indian art from February 21 to March 31.

Among the artists whose works are on display are Amit
Kalla, Dinesh Parihar, Ashok Acharya and Sachin Kirkire.

Loneliness and pride of achievement

Mystiq Art Gallery is holding an exhibition of paintings by artist Dipendranath from February 27 to March 10. Dipendranath’s work explores the relationship between the materialistic world and the conflicts of our inner souls on paper.

His work depicts the lavish surroundings brought about by the progress of mankind, but in all this
glitter and glamour, the souls remain lonely. His images exhibit the individual’s pride of having achieved something.

The image of a girl perched on top of a skyscraper shows her conquest, but it’s a lonely image, no one to share the joy, which is meaningless.

Artworks for connoisseurs and
collectors

Bajaj Capital Art House under its Artists of the Month for March 2009 programme is presenting the works of Indian artist Trupti Patel from Baroda and Dutch artist Jackie Sleper from Utrecht.

The artist of the month programme focuses on contemporary art to make a range of high quality new artworks accessible to connoisseurs and collectors.

Although a sculptor by training, her work has gone through various interesting directions often changing tracks successfully.

From sculpture to ceramics to printmaking to work on paper and other media in different modes, she explores various themes, not restricting to any single genre. Within the diversity of her medium, her work evokes a harmony of expressions around human concerns and emotions.

Born at Nairobi 1957, Trupti Patel had her initial training in sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda.

This was followed by a Master’s degree in Ceramic Sculpture from the prestigious Royal College of Art in London on a scholarship.

She continued to stay and work in London for a few years before returning to India and this multifaceted exposure seems to have impacted by adding another dimension and innovation in her form and technique. Trupti Patel lives and works in Baroda.

New Delhi, March 1
The ever-changing consumption patterns and the recent policies of the Indian government have resulted in an obvious upsurge in the consumption-base in the electronics industry.

Consequently, this has left the country to combat with an accelerating rate of e-waste generation, which is around 10 per cent annually, as per the annual report 2009, released recently at a National Conference on E-Waste at Pragati Maidan in the Capital.

The study, “The status and potential of e-waste management in India”, which was released by Electronics Industries Association of India (ELCINA) at Componex Nepon 2009, has been conducted by IMRB International with the support of department of scientific and industrial research, ministry of science and technology as part of their technology management programme.

The report points out at an existing gap in the technological status as well as market viability, and forecasts that the yearly e-waste production would reach 4,34,000 metric tonnes by the end of this year.

And this is due to the customers’ wish to have a hold of the latest model of computers, mobiles etc., which is getting replaced and overhauled primarily due to rapid advancement in the technological sphere.

The study, based upon the survey of 2007, highlights the fact that over 95 per cent of the e-waste is treated and processed in the unorganised sector in the majority of urban slums of the country, where untrained workers carry out the dangerous procedures, which are detrimental not only to their health but also to the environment,” informed Mohan Krishnan, senior vice-president of IMRB International.

He added that during the process, about 70-74 per cent of precious metals is lost that could otherwise have been recovered in the organised sector.

The study calls for a need to legislate some of the extant guidelines on e-waste coupled with offering incentives to the organised players in the form of soft loans and subsidies in land purchase etc. to reduce the financial burden on them.

To enhance market viability, integration of the organised and unorganised players could be beneficial.

“An end-to-end asset recovery plant could be an ideal model for effective regeneration of e-waste. The government and the local municipal bodies have to take up the task of awareness generation along with working towards nurturing a symbiotic relationship between the organised and unorganised sectors,” emphasised Mohan Krishnan.

New Delhi, March 1
Though the government has banned polythene bags in the city, it has not yet come up with a better environment-friendly alternative.

Recently, some newspapers published articles where the government is asking people to suggest an alternative to plastic bags.

Where paper bag is considered as one of the alternatives, it is important to know that their uncontrolled usage can cause irreparable loses to the environment.

Since the time plastic bags have been banned in the city, people are seen using paper bags — absolutely ignorant of their hazardous impact.

Paper bags have a higher recycling rate. But each paper bag you use is made from virgin pulp, which is collected from trees, for better strength and elasticity.

Therefore, higher usage of paper bags will cause deforestation at a large scale.
Manufacturing paper bags from recycled paper is an intensive process.

Besides, paper sacks generate 70 per cent more air and add 50 times more water pollutant than plastic bags, said an environmentalist.

Plastic bags are much easier to ship as they occupy less space. The transportation cost of a finished paper bag is eight times more than a plastic bag.

Urging the government not to ban plastic bags, an awareness forum highlighting the issue ‘Save trees use plastic bags’ was launched here recently.

Convener of the forum Rajesh Mittal said, “It is a misconception that plastic bags are not eco-friendly.
Littering plastic bags chokes drains. Instead of banning them, the government should do something in waste management.”

“It takes four times more energy to manufacture a paper bag. Therefore, to check unwanted emissions and wastage of energy one should go for plastic bags,” said a member of the forum.

According to the environment department, plastic bags use just 4% of the commercially produced oil and add just 1 to 7% to the domestic waste.

Besides, paper bags are much bulkier than plastic bags. They occupy more landfill space. “They are three to five times bulkier than plastic bags. Landfills are closing down,” said an environmentalist.

Over 1,00,000 tonne of municipal solid waste is generated daily in the country. Therefore, an average of 38 million tonne is generated annually.

According to experts, if we stop using one tonne plastic bags, we will kill 10 trees which take around 10 years to grow.

Paper
is a mass commodity product and it is dying because of the costs that
are involved in its production.

Energy and waste issues aside, manufactures of paper bags bring down some 14 million trees yearly to meet the demands of the country where each person uses around 5 kg plastic bags every year, confirmed sources.

New Delhi, March 1
Whenever there is a scam in the market, the investors end up bearing tremendous losses, and the small ones are the biggest sufferers, particularly if the foul play involves multiple players in the market.

In the recent times, the small investors have restricted their investments.
Thus in the case of share scam, stringent rules should be put into place for regulating the credit rating and auditing companies so that the trust of small investors can be reinstated, says a survey report released today in the Capital by the Confederation of All India Traders Research and Trade Development Society.

The existing laws that govern the functioning of the Indian share market have failed to secure the hard-earned money of small investors.

The study emphasises the need of formulating small investors’ protection Act and taking up the issue by various political parties in their election manifestoes.